


searching for her queen

by GlassRose



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/F, King!Valkyrie, Miek makes an appearance too, Poor Sif, Post-Endgame, a LOT of people we love are dead actually, eventually, so do more Avengers, so some people we love are dead, so there's no non-canon character deaths but it's, that's basically half the fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 09:08:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21176915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassRose/pseuds/GlassRose
Summary: When Lady Sif discovers the timepiece on her ship has jumped forward five years and Asgard and her best friends are space dust, she tries to make a home with the remnants of the Aesir in Norway, Midgard. But she immediately finds herself butting heads with the new king. Can Sif and Valkyrie understand each other and forge a new path for their people despite Odin's legacy and their own pain?





	searching for her queen

Asgard was gone. Completely obliterated. Sif had watched her arm turn to ash and then suddenly the date in her ship's controls said five years had passed, so she laid in a course for Asgard. It was completely gone. Nothing left.

Where to go, where to go? Vanaheim, perhaps Hogun was there, or Midgard, as Thor had been fond of it. She opted for Midgard. Things seemed to happen there quite a lot. She entered the atmosphere and was immediately hailed by an AI from Stark Industries. Not Coulson or SHIELD, but good enough. Stark was Thor's colleague. "Identification, please."

"Lady Sif of Asgard. I'm looking for--"

"Hold please."

"Hold?"

A drone flew into view and scanned her vessel. The AI spoke again. "Identification accepted. Please make your way to Tønsberg, Norway. Coordinates are being sent. Deviation from this course will be met with force. Have a nice day, Asgardian."

Strange. That surely indicated there were more Asgardians on Earth, then, didn't it?

Sif hoped so. She followed the SI course and landed in a field outside a small fishing village on the coast of Norway. She remembered this place; the Jotuns had invaded here once, centuries ago, and she'd learned it as part of history lessons.

"New Asgard," she murmured to herself, reading the sign as she walked toward the village.

A woman, an Asgardian Sif didn't know, came to meet her. She had long, dark hair and was holding a large carrot. "Hello, straggler," she said. "Welcome home. What's your name?"

"I'm Sif." Sif frowned. "So this is...what...who is all…" She gave up. "What the hell happened?"

"Sif," the woman repeated. "Thor wondered where you'd gone."

"Thor? Is he here?"

"No, I'm sorry. He took a trip with the Guardians. But everyone else is."

"The Warriors Three?"

"Oh, uh, not them either. I'm sorry, but Hela killed them."

"Hela?" Sif asked, bewildered.

"You missed five years, didn't you?"

"How did you…"

The woman nodded. "A lot has happened. Walk with me. I'll fill you in."

Odin's beard. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg were  _ dead _ . Sif nodded dumbly and followed the woman, but she felt as if she'd been hit by a spaceship. Her friends were gone. She listened as the woman introduced herself as a Valkyrie, explained about Hela and Odin, the destruction of Asgard, the "Snap" and return, Loki and Heimdall's deaths, and losing half of the Asgardians even before the Snap. By the time they reached the docks, tears were streaming down Sif's cheeks. Normally she'd be faced with something to do and she'd do it so she could focus on anything but the helpless  _ pain _ , but there was nothing to do, no enemy to fight. Thor and Stark had killed Thanos. The Chitauri were gone. The mass slaughter had been undone. Hela was dead. There was nothing left.

"My mother," Sif said. "My father--are they…"

"Eh, I can ask around," Valkyrie offered. "I don't know."

"I...yes, I…"

"Take a minute. We all had to at some point."

Sif nodded and sat down on the edge of the dock, putting her sword and shield to the side. In times of great pain, she usually turned to Thor, the Warriors Three, Frigga, and once upon a time, Loki, but Thor was gone and the others were dead. She could only hope her own parents had survived, though they hadn't been close for a very long time now.

She stared out at the water, letting herself feel the pain. There was nothing to do and no one to hurt, so it was time to work through the suffering. It was all far, far too much to process right away, and she didn't yet know if her family had survived. She meant to sort through her feelings, but instead she just stared at the rippling waves until heavy footsteps on the dock caught her attention. She stood up and turned around to see a large rock person approaching her. A Kronan. Odd. She hadn't seen one since the attack on Vanaheim just before the Convergence.

"Lady Sif?" he asked, his voice much higher than she'd expected it to be.

She nodded. "Yes?"

"I wanted you to know I asked around about your family and I'm sorry to bring you the news, but they were murdered by Thanos when he attacked our ship before we made it to Earth. Sorry about that. I know you got Snapped, so it wasn't very long ago for you, so this is probably all quite terrible for you." He had a strange cheerful lilt to his voice, though he wasn't unsympathetic. "Me and Miek were about to have a beer and watch a movie, if you want to come."

Sif started to demure, but what else was she supposed to do? She was alone. She could use a friend and a distraction. The information she'd just received was far too much to process along with the grief so easily. "Yes. I think I will." She picked up her sword and shield and followed the Kronan to a house on a hilltop, where a Sakaaran was playing Earth video games. The technology here wasn't nearly as advanced as SHIELD tech.

"Sif, this is Miek. Miek, this is Lady Sif of Asgard. She's just lost almost everyone she loves and Valkyrie just explained Thanos and everything to her, she's only just found out her home was destroyed, so I thought she should come spend some time with us instead of moping on the docks."

Miek made a funny sound and Korg shook his head. "Well, Thor was fun anyway, and everyone processes grief differently."

His strange openness should have been uncomfortable, but after everything, Sif just found it endearing. She needed to learn to speak Sakaaran. Miek squeaked again. How long did Sakaarans take to pupate and hatch? "So tell me, what's a Kronan doing in an Asgardian refugee settlement?"

"Me and Miek came from Sakaar with Loki. You see, I started a revolution, but I didn't bring enough pamphlets, so the Grandmaster made me a prisoner with a job, a gladiator, but then I started another revolution when Thor and the Hulk and Valkyrie stole the Grandmaster's ship, and then we rescued Loki and stole another ship and rescued all the Asgardian refugees."

Miek squeaked.

"Well yes, but this king is nothing like the Grandmaster. I don't think we need another revolution right here."

"Thor?" Sif asked, because Thor was the king, but Thor wasn't here.

"Oh no, he's off world. Between you and me, I think the stress was too much for him. He passed the crown to our Valkyrie friend."

White hot rage suddenly coursed through Sif's veins. The  _ deserter _ was the new leader? "Her?" she practically spat.

Korg looked taken aback, as much as a pile of rocks could. "Well, you might not have seen, but over the last five years she's really grown, cut back on drinking, taken responsibi--"

"She  _ left _ for  _ ages _ ," Sif snarled. "She just gets to come back, and...no. No." The Valkyries were dead, but this one had lied, had pretended to be dead so she could abandon Asgard. Sif wasn't against welcoming back lost ones, but Valkyrie had disappeared in the line of duty and lived on Sakaar for centuries! She didn't deserve to  _ rule  _ the remaining Asgardians. Sif had her sword in her hand and was halfway down the hill before her brain caught up and agreed with the decision. Korg was following her, but she ignored him. She sheathed her sword, because you can't make a challenge with your weapons already out, but continued down into the village, even though she didn't know where Valkyrie was. She'd find her, one way or another.

One way, as it turned out. Valkyrie was moving crates onto an old truck at the docks. Sif didn't have anything prepared, but her anger carried her. "You left," she said loudly. "You deserted."

Valkyrie didn't seem very bothered as she turned casually to face Sif. "Your point?"

"You can't be  _ king _ of our people. You left!"

"You left," Valkyrie replied, unamused, and loaded another crate.

Sif's face burned. "I was sent on a mission by Odin--"

"By Loki."

"By my king. You feigned your own death and abandoned your duty! Now you return and think you can take his place?"

"And you're what, trying to duel for the throne here?"

"If I must!" Sif couldn't just let this stand. "I do not claim I would be a great queen, but at least my loyalty to Asgard has never wavered."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. She didn't take anything seriously. Who was she to rule over the people of Asgard? She sighed and said, "Fine, if that's how you want to play it. I'll get my sword." She walked into a nearby house and shut the door.

"Oh dear, you made her mad," Korg commented.

"She hardly seems to care at all," Sif said coolly.

Korg shook his head. "Oh no, she's quite hurt."

So what? This wasn't about hurt feelings; this was about Asgard and duty. Sif waited until Valkyrie came out wearing white armor and holding a blue-green sword. A Dragonfang, Sif realized.

"Korg, count it," Valkyrie ordered.

"Oh, right, all right." Korg straightened. "Now, I want a good clean fight, no biting, first one to yield loses. Draw your weapons, oh, you've already drawn. Well, three, two, one, go."

Sif raised her sword and they circled each other.

"You haven't seen these people in five years," Valkyrie taunted. "What do you think you'd do even if you could win?"

Sif lunged and was met with a jarring block, but they both stood their ground. "That's a far shorter break than you had, and I had no choice."

Valkyrie dodged back and took a swing, which Sif block. Strike, block, strike, parry, dodge. They were well evenly matched. Too evenly matched.

"Wow, this could really go on for a while," Korg commented over the clang and swish of swords and Sif's shield. Miek squeaked.

He was right, and Sif was starting to pant, but so was Valkyrie. A solid hit drove Sif's shield into her shoulder. A lucky sweep thwacked the side of Sif's sword into Valkyrie's shin. They had an equal number of bruises by the time Sif was starting to wonder if she really could beat Valkyrie.

A few Asgardians had gathered to watch by now. "Need a break?" Valkyrie sneered, though she was gasping as badly as Sif.

"Never," Sif grunted right back, her lungs heaving. She swung at Valkyrie's legs, and Valkyrie leapt over the arc, rolling away. Sif pressed the attack, her legs aching, and drove Valkyrie to the edge of the dock, but Val bounded forward and swept her leg into Sif's, and they both tumbled into the water.

"I'm calling a break!" Korg said, hurrying over to drag them both out of the water. "You're both worn out. Two minutes."

Sif wanted to argue, but Valkyrie nodded, so she agreed and sat at the edge of the dock, collecting herself and regaining her breath. The water was cold and sharpened her focus.

"Thirty seconds," Korg called.

Valkyrie was wrestling with the clips on her soaked cape. "Just give it up. You can't win." The cape fell away and pooled on the dock.

Sif stood up. "I won't leave my people to be ruled by a deserter."

"And time."

Valkyrie raised her sword again and backed off the docks. "This honor thing you have? It's tired."

Sif swung her sword with aching arms. "You wouldn't know honor if it hit you in the face."

A wave of fury came over Valkyrie and she took the offensive, striking harder and harder as she spat back. "Fuck you, you want to know why I left? The love of my life died in my bloody arms, murdered by Odin's rotten daughter and he wouldn't even kill her, just locked her away so the rest of us would have to face her and he wouldn't!"

Sif's hands stung as Valkyrie's blows came harder and faster.

"How could I serve a king who created a monster so he could take over realms he had no right to rule and then shut her away when she was no longer useful? Call it peace? It's conquest. The citizens of the conquered suffer, yes, but we who were chewed up and spat out by the war machine suffer too. We couldn't say no. We had to obey our king. So yes. I pretended I died with my beloved and disappeared. You weren't there. Why are you proud of your blind loyalty to a slaughterer?"

The Dragonfang plunged through Sif's shield and caught, just for a moment, just long enough for Sif to take the opening and disarm her.

Just long enough.

But.

She watched the moment pass by in slow motion. Because Hela had destroyed Asgard, effectively. Hela had killed Sif's dearest friends, and Valkyrie had suffered that too. They'd both been lied to by their king, only Valkyrie had had longer to think about it, think about what was right and wrong and how to be better than Odin.

Valkyrie yanked her sword back and Sif missed the block, watching it come to her throat. Both combatants froze, chests heaving, eyes meeting. "I yield," Sif said, loud enough for the assembled to hear. Valkyrie pulled back and sheathed her sword. Sif knelt. "My king," she said, eyes lowered.

But Valkyrie only said, "Korg, we've got that empty cabin, get her set up there and find some regular clothes for her." Her shoes thudded lightly on the wood as she disappeared back into her house.

Sif raised her eyes and let Korg pull her to her feet.

"That was a great fight," he said cheerfully as he led her down the path. "Next time, maybe you--"

"I don't think there will be a next time," Sif said slowly.

"Maybe we can get that shield fixed for you anyway," he said, and continued his cheerful prattle all the way to the little house.

The cabin was a bit dusty and covered in spiderwebs, but the water and electricity worked, and Korg offered to help clean it up. Sif wanted space, so she sent him away and began wiping down surfaces herself. He came back with some Earth clothes for her, but then left her alone. She removed her armor and changed into the jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie.

There were linens in the closet, so she dusted off the bed and set it up before opening the window to let the cool air in. It wouldn't do overnight, but for now, to let the house air out a bit, she could bear it. The hoodie was nice. Sif gazed out at the water, her guts churning. Everyone was dead.  _ Everyone _ but Thor was dead and gone and their bodies were gone and who was she without everyone she loved? Alone. Lady Sif and the Warriors None. Lady Sif the hothead who challenges her new king without knowing the full story.

Lady Sif the fool.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry I kind of really hate Marvel rn so i can't promise I'll ever write much more, just picture sif and valkyrie falling madly in love and maybe darcy and some other beloved friends show up. I think I had a notion of the grandmaster and darcy being roommates? and she called him grandma? i don't remember. it's been a while.


End file.
